Give me a book recommendation that is NOT harrowing, devastating, or heartbreaking. The world is too sad already. Any genre! Although I tried the fairy porn and it isn’t really for me.

Question

Elena · Answer

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown: IYKYK!! An iconic book, read to release all shame and be inspired to just ~live~ as your most true and unapologetic self.

Molly Bolt is a legendary narrator, character, and woman-favoring bisexual, and thankfully unlike so many other stories of queer women, this one is not tragic!!

If you’re easily scandalized you will need to have your pearls handy for near constant clutching.

Ariel · Answer

September House by Carissa Orlando: This book had me spooked but also crying over the main character and her relationships with her family and the ghosts that live in house. Great twist too 😈

Emmmily · Answer

The Husbands: The concept alone is delightful: A woman comes home to find that she has a husband she has never met nor married. And every time he climbs up to the attic, he reappears as someone completely new. WHAT?! Light hearted with just the right amount of poignancy and introspection. Read this.

Maribeth · Answer

book of delights by ross gay: I immediately read the authors other books, “inciting joy” and “the book of more delights” after.

Jess · Answer

my lady jane: Silly and fun, but still pulls you in!

Whitney · Answer

road to tender hearts

Amy · Answer

The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Hisashi Kashiwai): These books are very charming and a series, if you end up liking them. I liked the descriptions of all the food and stories of why people loved them. Very lighthearted.

Syd Sidney · Answer

Architecture of Happiness: This is part of a kind of literatur I call “Xanax reading.”

Things that just make me feel good if I’m on the Verge of melting down lol

Betsey · Answer

pride and prejudice!!!: so fab, even when you know how it ends. its so chic to spend 6 weeks in the country visiting your friend who married your cousin who wanted to marry you

Aya C · Answer

Slow Dance (Rainbow Rowell): I adored this book and devoured it in two evenings. It’s the kind of writing I’d repeat pages so I could experience them again. The kind of emotional nuance that made me gasp, tingle or cry. Eviscerating but not in a sad, devastation way but rather through mistakes, regret, nostalgia, misunderstanding, hope and bravery.

*just saw the endorsement from Gabrielle Zevin and this tracks: I love Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Persuasion is my favorite Austen.

Wynne · Answer

Evvie Drake Starts Over - Linda Holmes: This book is pretty much perfect. It’s cozy and sweet, but has some depth to it too. And it takes place in Maine which just adds to the magic. I’ve read it twice and have made it my go to rec for anyone who needs a pick-me-up. I’ve sent it to several friends who were going through a hard time. Linda Holmes is a delight and I really recommend her book Back After This as well though I’d say that one is more of a true romance.

John · Answer

Sipsworth: Heartwarming and sweet. A bit melancholy but will ultimately have you smiling by the end.

Shira · Answer

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life: For nonfiction, ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE. For fiction, COMING HOME by Rosamunde Pilcher.

Eileen · Answer

The Correspondent: I tore through this! The main character is so intriguing and lovable—working her way through some late in life regrets. There’s a (small) mystery, romance, lots of tender family dynamics. I did cry but it was life affirming.

Leilani · Answer

My Garden (Book) (Jamaica Kincaid): I find myself rereading this in spring and early summer - cozy, contemplative, easy to put down and pick up again!

Liz · Answer

Writers & Lovers: I don't read a lot of fiction, but I really enjoyed this book.

Jenna Skowronski · Answer

Heart the Lover (Alice Hoffman): I both loved and was emotionally devastated by this book.  Sobbed on a plane.

Ella McMahan · Answer

Theo of Golden: What everyone says about this book is true- it IS so good. It’s the perfect palate cleanser between more involved books. Theo shows us kindness goes far and that not everything good has to come with a cost!

Edit 10/4/26: was recently informed that the author of this book unfortunately supports causes I’m not aligned with (if you catch my drift)- I still think it was a great read, but adding this here so any readers can consider this if they feel it’s necessary!

Loose Links · Answer

Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: Very funny memoir!

Sam · Answer

The Hands of the Emperor: Friends being kind to each other in a rich fantasy setting. There’s conflict but it’s resolved tenderly. You can really sink into this book.

Jim Biancolo · Answer

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: Great representative of the “cozy fantasy” genre. Lovely themes of found family and community building, and just generally such a warm read (but not without real stakes and tension to drive the story along).

Tricia B · Answer

Bite By Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees (Aimee Nezhukumatathil): Short delightful essays each sparked by a different food, by poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil. I listened to her read the audiobook on Libby. She has another collection on animals that I gifted to a friend. She mentions her friend, poet Ross Gay, in some of her memories and it’s not a surprise that they are friends since he is the author of books called literally The Book of Delights, and Inciting Joy. Just lovely people.

molly · Answer

the house in the cerulean sea - tj klune: my favorite book i reread constantly. not a critical thinking book, but certainly brings me a lot of comfort in harrowing times.

Alexandra Ford · Answer

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett: Meryl Streep reads the audiobook for this and it’s just lovely. Funny, comforting, nostalgic, beautifully written. Will make you call your mom.

Kaylan · Answer

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten: Ina Garten’s memoir is equally nourishing and inspiring. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

jmd · Answer

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (1992): My other favorite Discworld book so far.

(For anyone new to these who might be interested: I'd say they're like if Douglas Adams wrote fantasy comedy instead of science fiction comedy, but there are several dozen of them, comprising a variety of connected sub-series (broken down visually here). There are a lot of suggestions out there for what order to read them in, but mine would be: Start with Small Gods (a stand-alone book that takes place probably a couple thousand years before the others) and Guards! Guards! (the first of the City Watch sub-series). If you're hooked, then just go back and read the rest in publication order. If you find that you're mostly liking only some of the sub-series or want to read them that way, then you can use the visual guide to go through just those in order.)

jmd · Answer

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett (1989): I only recently dove into Pratchett’s Discworld oeuvre, and pretty much all of them have been hilarious and delightful. This is one of my two favorites so far.

(For anyone new to these who might be interested: I'd say they're like if Douglas Adams wrote fantasy comedy instead of science fiction comedy, but there are several dozen of them, comprising a variety of connected sub-series (broken down visually here). There are a lot of suggestions out there for what order to read them in, but mine would be: Start with Small Gods (a stand-alone book that takes place probably a couple thousand years before the others) and Guards! Guards! (the first of the City Watch sub-series). If you're hooked, then just go back and read the rest in publication order. If you find that you're mostly liking only some of the sub-series or want to read them that way, then you can use the visual guide to go through just those in order.)

Joe · Answer

Cosmicomics (Italo Calvino) are Fairytales about Physics: These are capital L literature but also light and beautiful: each piece is a reflection and humanization of some gigantic cosmic phenomena, there is a story about how annoying it was to live so close to one’s neighbors before the big bang, one about how communication with someone on another planet becomes a hassle as the universe expands, in one story the only numbers the characters know are π and e because discrete quantities haven’t been invented yet. It’s all delightful and silly and perfect.

Jenn · Answer

The Road to Tender Hearts: my favorite read last year - the audiobook is a delight

Lida Richardson · Answer

The Dispossessed (Ursula K. Le Guin) [50th Anniversary Edition]: Definitely on the heavier side, but so optimistic, and I found it impossible to put down. I like Le Guin’s fantasy, but this blew my mind. Lovely writing, wonderful characterization, so thoughtful and human and hopeful.

Lida Richardson · Answer

All Fours (Miranda July): Funny, sexy, weird, and ultimately very optimistic. A total delight.

Spines, Flicks, and Wax · Answer

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows (Balli Kaur Jaswal): I really enjoyed this one! A London woman (who has adapted a Western lifestyle outside of her Sikh family) is strapped for cash after the passing of her father and starts teaching a creative writing class to a group of Punjabi widows.

As the title suggests, the widows become quite interested in writing in a certain genre ;)

Mary · Answer

Bridget Jones's Diary: I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve reread this since the first time ~15 years ago. It always makes me laugh and is a wonderful mood booster!